“Do I need to have work experience at an OLIVE YOUNG store?” “Can I apply for the Global Insight track even if I have never lived in the U.S.?” “I don’t have experience as an MD intern. How can I demonstrate that I’m a good fit for the role?” These are questions that may have crossed the minds of anyone preparing to join OLIVE YOUNG. At the New Hire Recruitment briefing for the second half of 2026, prospective YOUNG MAKERs raised many of the same questions. This year, there was particularly strong interest in the Global Insight track. From eligibility and reapplying to relevant experience and evaluation criteria, as well as the Global Insight track and job placement after joining OLIVE YOUNG, recruiters and current employees answered questions that can be difficult to find answers to through online searches alone. From application to joining OLIVE YOUNG: Questions about the recruitment process Q. What is the recruitment schedule for new graduates in the second half of 2026? Applications are open until 5 p.m. (KST) on September 30. The process will then proceed with the application screening results announced in October, followed by the test stage (CJ CAT and CJ CFT), in-depth job interviews in mid-November, and management interviews in December. After a pre-employment health check and document submission, new hires are scheduled to join OLIVE YOUNG in January 2027. The AI competency assessment has been discontinued starting with this recruitment cycle. ※ For the Global Insight track, the TEST stage will take place from October 6 to October 9 following the application period. The next-stage candidates will be selected based on a comprehensive review of the submitted application materials and TEST results. Q. I’ve applied before but wasn’t selected. Will my previous result affect my reapplication? Reapplicants are evaluated as new applicants. Rather than focusing on the outcome of a previous application, it is important to show what experiences you have gained since then and what new capabilities you have developed through those experiences. Q. Is there a “cross-review” process where candidates are also considered for other roles? There is no separate cross-review process. It is therefore important to clearly identify the role you want to apply for and demonstrate how your experiences connect to that role. Q. Do I need work experience as an OLIVE YOUNG store crew member? No. While store experience can be helpful in understanding OLIVE YOUNG and its customers, many new employees have joined without previous store experience. A closer look at the Global Insight track Q. What are the eligibility requirements and capabilities evaluated for the Global Insight track? These include language proficiency, experience living in the target country, and holding a bachelor’s degree or higher from the target country. The target countries can be found in the recruitment announcement. In the evaluation process, what matters is not simply how long a candidate has lived in the country, but how deeply they understand its local culture and beauty and retail markets. The process looks at candidates’ ability to identify market changes and develop their own insights. Q. Is the assignment for the Global Insight track connected to the in-depth job interview? Yes. The assignment completed during the application screening stage may also be referenced during the subsequent in-depth job interview. Rather than simply focusing on creating a strong assignment, candidates should be able to clearly explain their own perspectives and reasoning. Q. Does the Global Insight track have the same tests as the general track? The Global Insight track does not include the CJ CAT. Instead, candidates will take the CJ CFT (CJ Culture Fit Test), an organizational culture fit assessment, from October 6 to October 9. The rest of the recruitment schedule is the same as the general track. Application screening results are expected between late October and early November. Q. If I join through the general track, will I have fewer opportunities to work on global projects? No. The Global Insight track was designed separately to give candidates an opportunity to better demonstrate their insights into local markets. Even after joining through the general track, employees will have opportunities to participate in overseas business and global projects. What is OLIVE YOUNG looking for in candidates? Q. What qualities does OLIVE YOUNG look for in its people? It is helpful to think about this in connection with “How OLIVE YOUNG Works,” OLIVE YOUNG’s internal framework for how employees approach their work and collaborate with one another. Beyond quickly identifying trends, important capabilities include thinking from the customer’s perspective, taking initiative to turn ideas into action, and collaborating with diverse people to create results. * YOUNG MAKER is the name used for OLIVE YOUNG employees. YOUNG MAKERS are people who read changes in customers faster than anyone else, discover new opportunities, take action themselves, and work together to create better results. “How OLIVE YOUNG Works" (trend leading, strong execution, collaboration and communication, and collective growth) is also an important part of the recruitment process. Ultimately, just as important as “what experiences you have had” is how you thought and acted through those experiences. Q. When it comes to relevant experience, is it more important to have a broad range of experience or deep expertise in one area? What matters is not the number of experiences themselves, but what you discovered and learned from them. Candidates should be able to explain what challenges they encountered, how they addressed them, and what insights and lessons they gained along the way. Q. Is AI proficiency evaluated as part of new graduate recruitment? AI proficiency is not currently evaluated as a separate criterion in the recruitment process. However, the extent to which AI is used may vary depending on the role after joining OLIVE YOUNG. Currently, OLIVE YOUNG employees use a range of workplace tools, including Gemini Enterprise, Confluence and Slack. A good-luck charm card for your journey to becoming a YOUNG MAKER From role selection to team placement Q. How is my department determined after joining OLIVE YOUNG? Placement is determined toward the end of the onboarding program based on a comprehensive review of the role the candidate applied for, job fit and other factors. Q. The marketing roles are divided into several areas. What does each one involve? For this recruitment cycle, the marketing roles are divided into Retail Media Marketing, Brand Marketing, Product Marketing, On-site Marketing, Commerce Marketing, and PB Marketing. On-site Marketing is recruiting through both the general and Global Insight tracks, while PB Marketing is recruiting only through the Global Insight track. The remaining marketing roles are recruiting through the general track. Retail Media Marketing uses OLIVE YOUNG’s online and offline customer touchpoints and data to drive advertising and marketing results for brands sold through OLIVE YOUNG. The role also involves managing media content and channels within offline stores and continuously improving advertising delivery and operational processes. Brand Marketing focuses on how to present and shape the OLIVE YOUNG brand itself and how customers experience it. Through brand strategy, campaigns and content, the team creates OLIVE YOUNG’s distinctive brand image and customer experience. Product Marketing helps customers discover OLIVE YOUNG’s diverse products and categories. By analyzing customers and trends, the team identifies products suited to different seasons and themes and develops marketing and promotional strategies to present them in compelling ways. On-site Marketing is responsible for the customer experience across OLIVE YOUNG’s domestic and international apps and online stores. The team considers how customers discover products and content and ultimately make purchases, while planning and operating various online touchpoints, including homepages, curated collections and promotions. Commerce Marketing focuses on turning customer interest into purchases and sales. The team analyzes the customer journey from acquisition and conversion through repeat purchases and proactively plans and operates in-app content and partnership promotions to drive these outcomes. PB Marketing analyzes customer needs and trends to promote OLIVE YOUNG’s private brands and products, including BIOHEAL BOH, Bring Green and colorgram. By connecting with customers across a range of channels in Korea and overseas, the team brings the appeal of K-beauty to global markets. Even when job titles sound similar, the customers each role serves and the goals it aims to achieve through marketing can differ. When applying, it is important to look beyond the job title and clearly demonstrate the problems you have identified and solved through your past experiences, as well as how those experiences connect to the role you are applying for. Q. If I join as a Product Developer (BM), will I participate in actual product planning and development right away? Yes. After being placed in the role as a new employee, you will immediately participate in the planning and development of actual products. Q. For the UI/UX Design (Global) role, do I need to submit both a portfolio and an assignment? Yes. Candidates must submit both a portfolio and a separate assignment. The portfolio can be submitted by entering its link in the designated field. Common questions from merchandising (MD) applicants Q. What does an OLIVE YOUNG MD do? From market analysis and category strategy to product sourcing and planning, partner management, marketing and promotions, store communications and performance management, MDs design and manage the entire process through which products reach customers. Q. If I don’t have experience as an MD intern, how can I demonstrate that I’m a good fit for the role? What matters more than whether you have internship experience is whether you have had experiences where you thought and acted like an MD. You can connect experiences such as analyzing sales, trends or consumers; turning ideas into action; or solving problems through collaboration to the work of an MD. Q. What mindset is most important for an OLIVE YOUNG MD? The ability to continually explore trends from the customer’s perspective and identify emerging needs and small signals in the market before they become clearly visible. The role goes beyond simply finding “brands that are trending” to turning small movements into new market trends. Q. Does a new MD take responsibility for a single category immediately after joining? Initially, new MDs gain broad hands-on experience, including monitoring sales, supporting product and promotion planning and operations, meeting with partners and communicating with related departments. Typically, from the third year onward, MDs take the lead in managing a specific category or area as a main MD. As the briefing came to a close, current employees who had once been in the same position shared their own experiences and advice. While their stories were different, they all came back to the same message: take time to understand what you enjoy, what you do well, and how the experiences you have built so far can connect to the work you hope to do at OLIVE YOUNG. For anyone at the beginning of that journey, the message was equally encouraging. Every experience, big or small, can be a step toward discovering where you want to go next. And in January 2027, some of the prospective YOUNG MAKERs who gathered here today may find themselves taking that next step as part of the real TEAM OLIVE YOUNG.